Kentucky Books

In PRACTICING THEORY AND READING LITERATURE, Raman Selden improves on his earlier A READER'S GUIDE TO CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE by delving more intimately into the byzantine pathways that mark current critical theory. In his newer effort, Selden assumes in the reader a working knowledge of literary criticism. His essays are more likely useful for the graduate student than the undergraduate in that he intersects the abstractness of theory with the concrete reality of applied criticism to specific works. His book focuses on Anglo-American theory, Russian Formalism, Structuralism, Post-Structuralism, Reader-Response, Marxist and Feminist criticisms. Since his text dates from 1989, Selden omits mention of Eco Criticism. Yet, even when he wrote, other theories were well entrenched and one wonders why he omitted Gay/Lesbian, Postcolonial, Afro-American, and Archetypal theories. For considerations of these latter modes, I recommend Lois Tyson and Charles Bressler, both of whom write for the novice in mind.

Selden's penchant for zeroing in on the minutia of critical tidbits is both his strong and weak points. I had no problem following his sometimes meandering mode of thought but only because I have a strong background in theory. I appreciated his trenchant analyses of works that range the gamut of western literature, but I could also commiserate with those who come to Selden without previous exposure at least on an undergraduate level. Selden is at his best when he deals with topics not well addressed in other texts like defamiliarization, binaries, Barthes' codes,and reception theory. I also liked his set of concluding exercises that give the reader an opportunity to absorb an admittedly large number of abstruse terms and concepts and apply them to specific tasks using clearly identified schools of theory. Such writing tasks are self-imposed and self-analyzed. If the reader is lucky enough to have a graduate professor critique the result, then that reader will almost certainly have learned a great deal. If not, then that reader will still benefit although perhaps not as much. Overall, Selden's text is a welcome addition for one who seeks to hone the tools of a challenging craft.

This book is a great companion piece to Selden's other book A Reader's Guide to Contemporary Literary Theory. The theories discussed in A Reader's Guide are here applied to classics of world literature (ex. poems by Wordsworth and Keats). Works of literature are interpreted from the point of view of each of the major theories discussed in A Reader's Guide (New Criticism, Russian Formalism, Structuralism, Poststructuralism, Psychoanalysis, Marxism, Feminism, Post-colonialism, etc.). This will help literature students in writing papers from various critical perspectives.

This book was fabulous. I thoroughly enjoyed the reading. It was quick and easy reading, but it had a very strong message.

This book has a very important role in the post Civil War imagining of a different future. Child always presents optimistic endings to fantastically complicated scenarios: here two sisters from an illicit liaison are shocked to find themselves illegitimate and liable to be sold as slaves when their father dies. Most of the book details their adventures in romance and at the very end a few Civil War scenes serve to bring their stories back together. It's hard to follow the plot, but there's a lot to like about this book nonetheless. Dana Nelson's commentary is quite helpful. And Child is a very important 19th century writer.

Sarah Moore is now fourteen years old, and has returned for good to her family's home on the Kentucky frontier after two years of studying with her cousins in Williamsburg. It's the fall of 1779, and the Revolutionary War continues back east, but life in Kentucky is much the same as always. Sarah is happy to be reunited with her parents, brothers, and sister, but is not used to the hardships and the constant fear of Indian attack. Sarah decides that she would like to be a teacher, and decides to open Stoney Creek's first school. She worries about if she will be a good teacher, since she is so young, but is determined to help the children of Stoney Creek learn. At the same time, she and the other settlers must worry about a thief that has been stealing food and clothing from all the farms on Stoney Creek.

Shadows on Stoney Creek is a good conclusion to the Sarah's Journey series, and I recommend it to all readers who enjoyed the first four books about Sarah Moore. I recommend this entire series to young readers who enjoy stories about pioneer or colonial life. It brings to life a young girl's adventures in Virginia and Kentucky during the American Revolution, and has likable characters and interesting historical details.

I've just finished reading this book. It was great. It made me feel like I was really in Kentucky, experenceing it with the main character, Sarah.You go through all the hardships. At points, I was yelling at the book about what I'd do. If you like historical fiction, you'll love this book and the others in the series.

I have recently discovered this wonderful protaganist, Rose Callahan, she takes you to a world, completely different from one we could ever experience. The series is easy reading, with so many twists, I'm reading so fast I feel like I am wearing the Shaker Dress trying to run! I love all the Herb references, makes me wish I could join! Very enjoyable series, can't wait for the next book.

The fourth Sister Rose Callahan Mystery takes place during the 1930s in Northern Kentucky. Sister Rose is the Elderess of the North Homage Shaker Village. She has a keen interest in a group of New Ownites who have come to observe them. Her first introduction is when a member of theirs is found hanged. Sister Rose discovers a possible witness and takes her in. (I found the scenes between Sister Rose and Mairin sweet and poignant.) Rose has many questions about the other group, such as: What do they want? Will they talk the Elder into change? Will they steal members away from their declining village or just take over? Was the hanging suicide or force? Is her group in danger? And most of all who does Mairin belong to and what will happen to her?

A Simple Shaker Murder is truly a good mystery, certainly fascinating with the 1930's depression era and Shaker theme. With a flurry of Shaker details, Deborah Woodworth's latest whodunit takes us down an ever-moving trail of twists and turns. Readers will find Sister Rose a formidable Elderess and sleuth capable of solving the crime and finding the answers to her own questions.

This was a very good first novel. Is the good guy too true to be true, or the bad guy too bad to be true! Waiting on the next Laney McVey book.

Mysteries aren't favorite reading of mine, but I thoroughly enjoyed SNAKEBIRD--its vivid details, plot, characters, setting, animals.

The subject-matter seems that of a physicist or a controls professor, not at all of a mathematician. Also there is a lot of unnecessary, pro-gradualism (institutional, communistic ) statements made throughout the text. In fact, the whole text, should be considered as verging on the edge of disaster. I feel only someone with some very modern, hard-core controls training and scholarship would really benefit much from reading this book. Even though it is obviously aimed at anyone with a first-year or even high-school calculus background.

My only real hope that the writing style of my reviews aren't this narcisisstic. I hope that in the performance control problem of life that my riding of its uni-cycle while I toss a ball doesn't annoy my core audience as much as this core fan was annoyed by this book.

Richard Bellman (1920 - 1984) was one of the most prolific
mathematicians. His early interest in pure mathematics was soon
eclipsed by a consuming passion for applications. He had great talent,
lots of energy, and the good fortune to be part of the most fertile
centres of mathematics and its applications: Los Alamos during the
Second World War, Princeton University and the RAND Corporation shortly
after. Bellman is credited, among other things, with the invention of
Dynamic Programming.

This book is based on the lectures Bellman delivered to a general
audience at the University of Kentucky. The book is unusual in that it
contains a little bit of substantial mathematics as well as much
exposition of the context of mathematics and the philosophy of
Bellman's approach to mathematics. The mathematics can be followed by
anyone who has taken a course in calculus. Yet it brings across the
essence of the ideas that were a breakthrough when Bellman developed
them in the 1950s. His contribution of invariant imbedding, for
example, is illustrated by alternative treatments of the problem of
determining how high a stone will go if you throw it upwards with a
given velocity. This is example is simple enough for a first calculus
course.

Even if you skip the few formulas, then you'll still be rewarded by
Bellman's masterly discourse on context and background. You will find
it a joy to read and think: "I didn't know a scientist could write
like this."

Sweeping Up Glass is the story of Olivia Harker, her family, her friends, and the hardships they all endure in rural 1938 Kentucky. The book introduces us to Olivia and her immediate surviving family, and then shifts off into about 15 chapters of back story. These chapters relate Olivia's childhood and her previous struggles with her mentally ill mother, her doting father, the love of her life, and the segregated black community in her area. Olivia encounters many hardships and setbacks as she grows up, and some are completely devastating. She grows from being a sweet and loving child into an acerbic and unbending woman. She is fiercely loyal in her love and ardently forceful in her hate. It is clear that her circumstances have shaped her. Olivia's daily existence is a tribulation that most would shrink from. Though she handles her situation with poise, she also carries more than a little bitterness. Olivia is a complex woman who is stubborn and resigned, yet still somehow hopeful. When we finally resume the action in the present, Olivia is faced with the realization that someone is killing the wolves that have always been protected residents of her land. Along with her grandson William, she attempts to track down the hunters. What she discovers is more than a simple poaching scheme, and the effects will be volatile to herself and the community.

The secondary plot revolves around Ida, Olivia's mother, who lives in a tar paper shack on the edge of her property. Ida is a fantastically rash character. She is mentally ill and has been abusive towards Olivia all her life; there is no love lost between them. Though Ida was absent for most of Olivia's adolescence, she returns to the family and creates havoc and heartache for Olivia and her father. Through all of her erratic behavior, Olivia's father, Tate Harker, remains loyal and steadfast to her. Yet Ida shows no reciprocation towards Tate, and remains cruel and unyielding. One of the interesting aspects of this book was the portrayal of the mental hospitals of the day. When Ida must retreat to one of these hospitals, Olivia visits to inspect it, and it is harrowing. The women there are either forced to be immobile or locked in small cages. Electroshock is mentioned, as are head shavings and ice baths. I had trouble with this section of the book, as it seemed a savage fate for Ida, one that Olivia didn't fully ruminate on. Though Ida had made some very bad choices in her life and didn't feel even the slightest bit of remorse, the choice to send her to that facility seemed heinous. It seems the author's point was that Olivia couldn't forgive Ida for what she had done and that as far as she was concerned, Ida was irredeemable. I feel that this section of the book may disturb many readers, and it was the only thing that marred my pleasure in this book. It was the only piece in the book that didn't seem to fit. The blatant cruelty of the decision was shocking.

Another aspect of the story involved Olivia's current relationship with her former high school sweetheart, Wing Harris. Olivia and Wing had only a brief time together before events separated them. Wing watched with stolid silence as Olivia went through horrible stages of her life, offering any help he could, while Olivia in her pride rejected him. As the book progresses, Wing and Olivia tackle the obstacles involved in their reconciliation. It is not as easy for them to reunite as one would hope. I liked the character of Wing because he was noble in the face of all his humiliations and trials, and he was always there when it mattered. Wing was a likeable character. Though somewhat sedate, he was unflinching in his honesty and loyalty.

The segregated black community portrayed in this book is poignant and revealing. Though they must remain separate from the whites, even having separate days for shopping at the local store, they embrace Olivia and her family as one of their own. The community's hardships are not harped upon, but relayed with respect to the adversity they faced. It was touching to see that there could indeed be no separation of color as far as Olivia's family was concerned. Themes of racial acceptance, real or imagined, hoped for or denied, ran through the book.

But as wolves continue to be slaughtered, Olivia unwittingly places herself and those she loves into the hands of unjust men who are trying to keep a devastating underground society alive. The story becomes a race to save those she loves, and the town, from certain destruction. Great forces are aligned against her, and it was with great trepidation that I realized the odds were against her. The many tiny revelations, along with the great, kept me on the edge of my seat, wondering if there was more to come, wondering how much more she and those of the town could take. Malice and discord sweep through the pages as the truths are slowly picked out. In addition, there are mysteries surrounding her father, secrets shrouded in perplexity that may indicate that her father was not the man she once knew.

This book had me hooked from the very first pages. The hard-scrabble daily existence of the characters was captivating and engrossing. The economies that had to be made were many, and the details of 1930's Kentucky were so precise that it was greatly absorbing. The language was rustic and simple, yet very clear and concise. I found myself wanting to know more about these people, to know more about their lives, hurts and victories. This book has a lot to say about the times that it portrays. The small issues and the great, neither is neglected. There are wise and humble characters as well as wicked and sinister ones. Love, anger, betrayal, duty, honor, racism, and death, forgiveness: they are all here. And the tapestry created is one of beautiful complexity.

By the end of the book, I was wishing I could spend more time with these characters, that they would not go. Aside from the aberration regarding the mental hospital, this was an outstanding debut novel. I will definitely read any other offerings from this author, and I wish her luck in her writing career.

In 1938 Kentucky, Olivia Harker Cross runs Harker's Grocery; her only help comes from preadolescent Will'm, whose mom Pauline dumped him on her before vanishing. Business is poor as no one can afford much. Looking back she thinks about her mom Ida living in a sanitarium in nearby Buelton, while her beloved Pap Tate ran a still and cared for ailing animals. Though married to Saul, for three decades Olivia has loved trumpeter Wing Harris who reciprocates, but neither has made the first move beyond howdy.

After Tate delivered a litter of puppies, he ran into James Arnold Phelps. Soon afterward Pap was dead and Ida had come home. Saul died not long afterward. Despondent, Olivia turned to Wing, but he rejected her. Even further upset, she chases after seedy male losers in dives.

However, she began to turn it around when Pauline dropped off Will'm on her as he is her salvation. When they hear shots fired by the mysterious Hunt Club members tracking silver-faced wolves, the pair becomes frightened as it is too cold to be outdoors hunting for sport. However, they soon have a bigger fear as the hunters stalk Olivia and Will'm.

Not for everyone as this is a strange historical thriller in which fans obtain a deep look at a beleaguered heroine who is seemingly betrayed by her loved ones whom she has loyally taken care of. Will'm is her redemption as Olivia will do whatever it takes to keep the boy safe although that might mean breaking the perceptions she and others have of her. Fans who enjoy something different will relish a tense look at Depression Era rural Kentucky.

Harriet Klausner

This is a very thoroughly researched book about snake-handling Pentecostals. I highly recommend it for an unbiased account of the practice. The author focused on one family, and did an incredible job of detailing the history of snake handling through them. The book covers everything from why these believers handle snakes, the very beginnings of the practice, the other "signs" (taking poison, handling fire), the basic doctrine of their church, the legal battles, the migration of the church & the snakes, the miracles, and the deaths. It also offers a wonderful history of the Saylor family, including their religious beliefs. I married into this family not even knowing that snake handling existed outside of old-time circuses and music videos, and after reading this book have a MUCH better grasp of the whole concept. Though all 53 of the photos are black & white, they add quite a bit. Even if you have no interest in purposefully picking up a rattlesnake or drinking strychnine, or don't even know who the Saylors are, this book gives the reader a front row pew on a part of American culture few people will ever experience.

Being a snake handling buff and unable to read David L. Kimbrough's, Taking Up Serpents for years, I finally had the pleasure. Kimbrough's work far surpasses anything else that has been written on the subject. Kimbrough being an Appalachian and Ph.D. sets the standard for doing oral research along with combing the archieves.
Kimbrough's work focuses on the Saylor family in eastern Kentucky and shows how the movement evolved. Kimbrough illustrates how the snake handling movement gained momentum when industrial capitalism surfaced in Kentucky.
The work is simply the best source for scholars and people with a general interest in snake handliing. No other book comes close to this masterpiece.

What did I know about the Battle of the Bulge before I read this book? Well, not very much, even though I read about war and warfare all the time. Watching Band of Brothers I got the impression that Easy Company more or less saved the day for everybody involved in the Allied offensive, and well, that was it. No more Hitler and no more WWII.

Not so. And that's quite clear after reading The Unknown Dead. However, I didn't learn that much about the war per se, even though quite a few pages talk about different battles and offensives and personal experiences et cetera. What I did learn, however, was that there were more people on the battlefield than just the Allied forces and the stubborn Germans. There were regular people present as well, and the sufferings these people who happened to be in the middle of the fighting were, to say the least, extremely horrific. This becomes very clear throughout the book, and Schrijvers does an amazing job telling the stories about these somewhat forgotten people. From time to time it might feel a little repetitive, but then again, the sufferings they had to endure WERE repetitive. And the only way to make the reader aware of how it really was is to tell it all, so this isn't really much of an issue.

However, what I liked the most about the book was the honesty, or in other words, the fact that Schrijvers never hesitates to - sometimes in quite gruesome detail - describe scenarios where not just the Germans and especially the Waffen SS and Gestapo executed people in cold blood or committed other mindless atrocities. The GIs too could be ruthless killers and totally lacking any sense of moral or discipline in the ways they interacted with the horrified civilians. This might be extremely uncomfortable to some, but hey, that's the way it was, and if you cannot deal with the fact that not all Allies were good and honest heroes, then the problem is with your look on reality, and not with Schrijvers' book.

All in all The Unknown Dead is as interesting as it is necessary, and I really do hope that Peter Schrijvers decides to write other books such as this one about other important battles in the WWII.

This book is a must read for everyone intrested in the Battle of the Bulge! It is about a "forgotten" fact of this battle, the suffering of the civilians. Untill now in every book about this Battle, hardly any information can be found about the Belgian population and how they suffered. Most historians and writers wrote untill now that there were only very limited casualties among the civilians. This book proves that this is not correct! The Belgian people did not only suffer from the Germans in this Battle, also due to the military action of the American and British armed forces many civilians died! Bombings by the American forces caused terrible suffering. In this book - which is a must read - we get another picture of the Battle of the Bulge and the suffering is has caused.

SHIPPER ADEQUATELY DESCRIBED ITEM AND SHIPPED PROMPTLY, HIGHLY RECOMMEND. WE'VE THOUGHLY ENJOYED READING AND LATER DISCUSSING THE BOOK!

I first discovered this book, when it was a required reading for folklore class I had in college. This book not only includes information about what happened in Kentucky in the past, it also includes a lot of customs of the present day. One chapter focuses on hangouts and customs of young people in Kentucky, including cruising and string racing. Montell also includes a lot of pictures. I was amazed to see some pictures of people and places from my own county. Although I prefer Montell's other books (like Ghosts Along the Cumberland) that focus on particular folk stories, this was still interesting enough for me to read.